Down Under when surfs up, it’s time to eat

Ah summer time… when the sun is hot and the living is easy – that’s what the Australians are thinking anyways! Right now they are soaking in the suns rays, drinking margaritas on the beach, enjoying their summer vacation, and eating. An article in the New York Times wrote all about the beach food down under, the different places to go, and the dishes to taste. Just a tidbit of “Sydney’s beach side cuisine” is below:

“It’s time for lunch,” I say to a friend who had taken the ferry ride from Sydney to Manly with me earlier in the day. Now, if we were back in the United States, perhaps at Jones Beach on Long Island, or Truro on Cape Cod, we would probably gather up our things and head off to some rustic beach shack for a hot dog, a slice of pizza or a lobster roll.

Things are a little different Down Under.

On Sydney’s most famous beach, Bondi, there are, of course, dozens of casual restaurants and cafes, offering up everything from pizza to fish and chips. But on the south end of the crescent-shape beach is one of the city’s most inviting restaurants.

In fact, some of the city’s best restaurants can be found at its beaches, from historic Bondi to upscale Balmoral, ranging from former changing rooms converted into elegant dining spaces to informal street cafes where you can rub shoulders with Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman before going for a swim in the roiling surf.

As I sat there recently, taking in the warm summer sun and watching the sailboats glide by in the bay, lingering over a salad of fresh prawns and avocado (23 Australian dollars) while a friend contentedly made her way through an order of fried calamari with chili basil mayonnaise (16 dollars), I had one thought: I won’t be rushing back to Jones Beach this June.